San Diego police Officer James Zirpolo won an award Wednesday from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making the most drunken-driving arrests in the county last year — 205, a number down slightly from when he won the same honor three years ago.

SDPD Officer John Ampol Jr., received the Christopher D. Lydon Distinguished Officer Award for his dedication to teaching DUI procedures to other officers and prevention to military personnel.

Both received their awards at the annual MADD luncheon at the Town & Country Resort in Mission Valley. Another 31 officers won “Outstanding DUI Officer” awards, and 11 were recognized for making 100 or more DUI arrests last year.

Daniel Fox, with the California District Attorneys Association, told the crowd of about 400 that law officers make about 17,000 DUI arrests in the county each year, and 97 percent are convicted of an alcohol-related driving offense.

Zirpolo has made about 3,000 DUI arrests in his 21 years with the San Diego Police Department, including the last 17 years in the traffic division. He was named “Top Arresting Officer” in 2009 with 227 arrests.

Zirpolo issued the seat-belt citations last year that sparked a ticket-fixing probe. In May at a checkpoint, he ticketed a driver and her passenger, Allison Worden, both county prosecutors, for not wearing seat belts. Worden allegedly tried to dissuade him, and then traffic Sgt. Kevin Friedman allegedly destroyed the citations.

Friedman, who resigned last month, and Worden face charges in the case.

Ampol, a San Diego police officer for more than seven years and a Marine Corps Reserves officer, was given the Lydon award, named for the California Highway Patrol officer killed during a pursuit of a drunken driver in El Cajon in 1998.

Ampol made 65 DUI arrests last year and has been named an “Outstanding DUI Officer” three years in a row. He teaches DUI arrests and techniques to other officers and volunteers to teach Marines locally and nationally about the danger of drinking and driving.